Promising a Chicken in Every Pot

The Question:

Which president promised "a chicken in every pot"?

The Answer:

It wasn't just chicken. During the presidential campaign of 1928, a circular published by the Republican Party claimed that if Herbert Hoover won there would be âa chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.â

Despite a landslide victory over Alfred Smith, the first Roman Catholic to run for president, the Republican Party's promise of prosperity was derailed seven months after Hoover took the oath of office. The stock market crash of 1929 plunged the country into the Great Depression and people eventually lost confidence in Hoover.

During his administration, however, there were several impressive accomplishments. He increased the acerage of U.S. national forests and parks by five million. He also worked out the engineering and funding of San Francisco's Bay Bridge, and re-organized the FBI. Despite these undertakings, American voters couldn't be persuded to elect him to a second term. With the Depression at its lowest point, voters elected Franklin D. Roosevelt to replace Hoover in 1932.